Weekly Roundup | Maintaining power

Election season is in full swing with early voting starting Tuesday. But to many people the more pressing issue last week was a loss of power after the remnants of Hurricane Helene pummeled the area. We have what you need to know on both topics.

Welcome to the Weekly Roundup, where we bring you the top stories from today’s Dayton Daily News and major stories from the past week you may have missed.

This week that includes an investigation into the Dayton-area power utility’s failure to keep the lights on, and an analysis of how your vote could impact the balance of power in the Ohio statehouse.

Our mission is to help you understand what’s really going on in the Dayton region. This includes comprehensive coverage of local governments and agencies, hard-hitting investigations, and in-depth analyses of important issues.

Do you have a news tip or an issue you think our reporters should look into? Contact me at [email protected], or you can use our anonymous tipline.

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Consumer advocates say AES Ohio should face harsher penalties for failing to keep the lights on

Our family was lucky and barely lost power after last week’s storms, but we had reporters without power for days (and even our newsroom lost power for long enough that we had to throw out all the food in the fridge). Reporter Tom Gnau investigated the performance of AES Ohio in keeping power flowing to customers in recent years.

• Key findings: Dayton electric utility AES Ohio (formerly DP&L) failed to meet industry standards for how long customers go without power four of the past five years, a Dayton Daily News investigation found. Read Tom’s full story here.

• Slap on the wrist: The penalty AES Ohio is facing for falling short of the standard is a $30,000 fine. AES Corp., the parent company of AES Ohio, took in more than $6 billion in revenue in the first six months of this year.

• ‘Paying a lot of money’: Maureen Willis, the Ohio Consumers Counsel, notes AES customers pay multiple “riders” meant to guarantee reliability.

- “The 519,000 customers of AES are paying a lot of money for reliability,” Willis said. “And it doesn’t seem like they’re getting it.”

• AES responds: AES officials say they are making improvements, and note they met the industry standard in 2023.

• Changing times: Industry experts say changing weather patterns, an increasing reliance on diverse energy sources and increasing demand for electricity all are complicating factors; but there are ways to improve the power grid.

Election 2024: How your vote could affect the balance of power in Ohio’s Statehouse

Credit: AP

The presidential and U.S. Senate races are getting most of the attention around this election. But your vote could impact policies closer to home by affecting the balance of power in the Ohio Statehouse in more than one way. Our Statehouse reporter Avery Kreemer has an in-depth analysis here.

• State of play: In the current 135th General Assembly, Democrats are outnumbered 32 to 67 in the 99 member House and 7 to 26 in the 33 member Senate. A political science expert notes this GOP supermajority means Ohio Dems “don’t even have a seat at the table” when it comes to governing.

• New maps: The November election will use new legislative districts created last year after court orders demanding the state legislative maps be fairer to Democrats. As a result, Dems have a chance to pick up a few seats, including a Dayton-area state Senate seat currently held by a Republican but where Democrats now have an advantage.

- Avery’s story has a list of every area Statehouse race and the new partisan lean for each, including a couple competitive races in the Dayton area.

• Issue 1: Ohio voters will also decide on a constitutional amendment that would change how legislative boundaries are drawn in the future. Avery found that has the potential of breaking the GOP supermajority if it passes. Go here for a full explanation on Issue 1 and how it would work.

• Make your vote count: The deadline to register to vote is Monday and early voting starts Tuesday. There are have been some changes to voting rules since the last presidential election. Go here for everything you need to know to cast your ballot.

• Election 2024: Our election reporting, including candidate profiles and tax issue analyses, is well underway. Go here to see the latest election coverage from our staff.